The Society of Authors (SoA) rejects the accusations which are made in an article published in The Times on 8 November 2024 which is inaccurate and misleading in a number of material respects.
The article inaccurately claims that the SoA was involved in and backed a political campaign this summer to pressurise publishers and festival organisers to drop sponsorship by companies with investments in oil and gas. In fact, that campaign was led by Fossil Free Books and was not supported by the SoA. In response, the SoA issued a statement in which the benefits of corporate sponsorship were recognised, as such sponsorship allows festivals to broaden awareness of and access to books and their creators.
The article also inaccurately describes the Authors’ Foundation as the SoA’s charitable arm. The Foundation is, in fact, a registered charity that awards grants to working writers and the SoA’s Management Committee is only one of five trustees of the charity.
The article also misleadingly reports the nature of the SoA’s recent letter-writing campaign which was launched at the request of our members. The SoA has not required organisations to disclose any connections with the fossil fuel industry, as reported. Rather, its aim is to encourage our industry partners to consider the ways in which our impact on the environment can be reduced responsibly. The SoA itself is currently reviewing its own impact and aims to implement the agreed recommendations early in 2025.
The SoA will be writing to The Times seeking a number of corrections to the article.
Related links
- SoA letter to publishing institutions: Ending fossil fuel Investment by publishing industry institutions.pdf (October 2024)
- SoA Tree to Me campaign: Tree to Me – one year on (October 2024)
- SoA statement on book festivals: a statement in support of book festivals (June 2024)
- EGM meeting and next steps: EGM – resolutions and next steps (May 2024)
- Where We Stand on sustainability in publishing: Sustainability in publishing
- SoA sustainability network for members: a sustainability network for members
